BOSTON – Boston is such a safe city that police are now seeing homicide rates that haven’t been a reality since the 1950s.
Only 24 murders in 2024
“In all my time as a police officer, since I took office, the city has never been safer,” Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said during a news conference Friday.
Gunfire rates have fallen 14% and 37% over the past five years. It’s the lowest since 2011, when they started tracking it consistently. So far this year, there have been only 24 homicides in Boston.
“I would think it would be higher,” said Beth Cafarella, a Massachusetts resident. “We feel safe. We love the Common. We have a lot of people from all over the world who come here for the attractions and the schools.”
The biggest rising trend in crime is shoplifting. Cox said it is up 30% and is the main catalyst for a 6% increase in business burglaries. According to him, if the shoplifting figures were removed, the number of business burglaries would have fallen by 17%.
Why is violent crime so low?
Mayor Michelle Wu attributes part of the city’s success to transparency. She said detailed crime data is regularly shared at public meetings, allowing informed residents to pitch ideas to law enforcement agencies who can then implement them.
“We also see that a focus on delivering results, especially on violent crime, leads to resources that can then be deployed to address quality of life issues,” Wu said.
Her comment means that the lower the violent crime rate, the more time officers have to address shoplifting and other problems.
